Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-12-02
Grady $ Speech.
The Silver TUnguGd Orator Makes a
Splendid Effort.
THE SENSA TON OF TIE DA 7
IN ATTAIN
HENRY W. GRADY TALKS ABOUT THE
GOOD THAT PROHIBITION HAS
DONE-FIGURES IN THE
[From the Atlanta Constitution. Nov. Bird j

the city, any one of which l had rather be
attending than here listening to myself
talk. (Laughter.) Your preserce here
convinces me that you havs deter mined tC
put aside pleasure tonight for business
(Applause.l Will you pardon me now.
one word of personal explanation? l alone
am responsible for what L say here TO-
night. | have not attended d Prohibition
meeting, and L am not acquainted with
the details or theory OF the Prohibition
campaign. My views Oh high license are
we'll understood. They prevented me
from an active participation in the last
campaign aud made me slow to reach an
opinion in this, but l have reached that
opinion in sincerity, and you shall have 1t
in frankness. Applause. One word
more. | have 10 personal ambiClon.
have no political ambition, but we're !
consumed with, and did L live to see It's
swift and perfect fruiJiOn. L should still
despise myself If l had put your generous
enthusiasm to It's USE tonight, Or had
shlrked my duty that | mlghS further it.
l speak with but one object. More con-
cerned am l that, having always fought
with Atlanta united. appear Tonight to
be with the faction. But my heart is
whole for her, and speak In love for her;
without enmiJy to one human being, as
plause.) | utter conviction so profound
aud deliberate that to leave IL unexpressed
were as cowardly as TO deny 1t Wien queS.
TONED Oh it.
Now ! shall speak in perfect good hui
NOR, criticlslng no man action and I'M
pugning no mans motive. Atlanta has
serious problem TO settle. Ii she reaches
its conclusion III rauc0T and bitterness she
will suffer, and this cause will suffer, nc
matter WHICH side may triumph. Ii she
reaches Ii SUberly, thong hifuily and dello-
erately. her people. honest, Intelligent d
re united in her service, Will enforce your
vtcLory il you viii 1t, and mitigate the evils
you fear il the opposition should Win. (Ap
plause.) | have but 1.-TWO points TO MAKE
Go-nlght. | want TO make them with such
conference as L Can Command, and beg
your patience aud attention.
l believe that prohibition should bt
tried for two Years longer.
First, because it has not had d full a No
fair trial.
Second, because this trial, imperfect aDC
brief as 1t has been, Is demonStraDle
success. (Applause.)
La discussing these Two points l sbal
not attempt TO comprehend the genera
principles of probi5lLioL nor Indeed /,
commit myself tu 1t. We are wisely lett
Under our local option law to settle tbls
question for ourselves. speak tO-uIgh
about Atlanta 10 Atiantains, about an ex
pertinent that Is given us, 1t may De Vi
GOD, to settle aud | am sure that ii L Cal
show you il has not had fair trial ahC
that it's imperfect trial has proved sue
cess full, that even Mr.. jefferson DAVIS, fol
he knows that personal liberty ends where
public injury beglHS-even he would says
. tlf h.
has wrought among the people l love.
(Atpiause.1 The basic principle OF gov
ern nenJ is, and has been since The lOWlJ
NaZarlne walked thl8 earth, the greates
good to the greatest humber.
Now, has prohibition lad d talr trial IL
Atlanta? [Cries OF no, no, II Was passed
by q bale majority 4; IL Wos Two months
before lGat uIojorlty was legal j-deciat ed
| there were llcouseo executing about lei
enthusiastically Ono-naf OF It's probation
there WAS organlze0 resistance To It's EN-
f0Ecem6nL; every STEP that was taken was
eXpa. ImenJ /; there was LOT dOUl
clused nor d hue enforced and col
collected except by slow process OF law
| Every defense was exhausted, aud tht
| cause had To fight with new machinery
| with undisclpiIned forces, and with hal
/ of It's Time consumed with uHexpred Ii
+! cenaes. L have heard mauy men ay-anL
| prQniblGiunISts Il would give half L al
! We lh If prohibition would really prohibit.
! Is there any fair % inded business maj
| WHO would commit himself To business
| Ven5uTe Involving half he Was worth, ant
would abandon That venture at Tile Close
of such d trial as Prohibition has had {
say ut WON'T wOrk p Is there any busl
ness man WHO would do that III his owl
| business? Is there any business man wht
| heeTS NE Tonight who believes, IL Che fui
| seuse domauded by the Importance VI tn'
| subject, that prohibition has had tal
| trial III Atianta2 L am SATISFIED tina
| there Is not one. 1t has barely begun HI
WORK. 1t has barely esJa bllsled the frs
! pre- mise Of the grand demonstration Il
| which / believe, il God IS mercy 1t ls CON
mltted. And YET you talk about stamping
| IL i.ere because II has been proved thai
prohibition Wun't prohibit. Ii 1t has moi
Gad a fair TRIAL. ought we not to give IL 9
| longer trail Was there ever City char
| ged with so tremendous problem as this
| Whether or not it is better for men il
| large cities 10 live under prunlOILlon
| WHISTLER it is possible that m7n III large
cities may reap the undanlabio advantages
of the prohibition Ut Ghe liquor traffic ! Ii
| is not too much to say, America waits Oh
| the answer Atlanta shall give To this ques
ton. (Applauoe). 1t is NOT too muGu tt
| Say that II We abai don 1t tO-nlgnG, COW
| ardiy Abandon it tonight, there will moi
be found an American city brave enough
to take IL up where We leave off. But ii
we Garry it through two years longer an0
demonstrate its success, think of The bar
ves5 that will be reaped by American cities
unGer American customs, and WhOst
hea rtS beat true to American institutions
know there are cities where it Is lraprac,
tic.,bie. but [ thank God Atlanta Is moi
one of them. Chicago will lack BeyeL
heads of being as much that Wy after the
10 h Of ills month. lApplause.)
\ insisting that prohibition has not haG
fair trial, do not mean to beg the sec
| ond proposition | LAID down, namely, tina,
1t lad been demonslrable success. III
there is a man mere tonight VINO has not
Fairness and the unprejudiced mind tha!
will lead him to give an important ques
tion Il full trials there a man who will
abandon this experiment when it Can be-
shown that working even imperfectly, il
has worked unspeakable good?
l commit myself to that word with per.
feet fearlessness. | say "unspeakable'
good. IF l talk until my tongue loses It's
power of articulation, I could not give you
one-balf of the Instances of good that ha, {
been put in my hands by kind friends TINS
evening. | VIII hastily class a few, none
of which will fall 10 prove significant.
When you go to get the effect of a new
movement for good or evil, where do you
go? Not to the rich and idie, because
you may swell or iminlsh their income
and yet not change their habits; you SIM
ply diminish tbs hidden surplus. Nor to
the middle class. because when you di,-
mlnish their income they simply pit oh
themselves and pinch so quietly that their
neighb0rs Go not know ii; Or swell their
income and they loosen out little and
pass something up to urplua. You eau
not tell it there, but 90 20 the poorer casy
ses; the men who labor for tbeir daily
bread, and ~hgse wages barely suffice to
give 1t to them, and Lhere you iud the
first signs of q good or evil movement, It
is at once the truth and reproach OF
our civilization, hat starvation follows so
close on labor that AZ eyl movement is
detected IN the hollow cheeks of little
children and the haggard faces of wonen
before it is made manifest to the big her